today is dr. barry’s birthday. i only call him dr. because it is his birthday (and he has a PHd, so technically i could call him dr. every day, but i don’t want to give him that satisfaction.) he is a faithful blog reader and my only MALE blog reader (even my husband doesn’t read my blog, “way too many words”, he says) and the only part that is bad is that his comments are WAY more witty than my blog entries. i am much like God (wouldn’t you all agree on that point) in the way that i do not share my glory with others. i am thinking of having barry killed for being funnier than me (which pretty much destroys the whole “i am like God” analogy)...

when he and evelyn were dating they came to a point in their relationship where evelyn said something to the extent of ...

NEVER CALL ME OR COME TO SEE ME OR TALK TO ME OR GET WITHIN THIRTY FEET OF ME EVER EVER EVER AGAIN IN MY LIFE. (which if you have ever met barry, you can TOTALLY understand)

and then barry follows the instructions like any man follows ANY instructions.... which is not well.

a few weeks later he shows up on evelyn’s doorstep with an engagement ring. now recall with me if you will that last thing this woman said to him was...

NEVER CALL ME OR COME TO SEE ME OR TALK TO ME OR GET WITHIN THIRTY FEET OF ME EVER EVER EVER AGAIN IN MY LIFE, SO HELP ME GOD THE SIGHT OF YOU DISGUSTS ME. (i may have exaggerated a bit on this second version, but this is history according to lea).

and his next move was an engagement ring? i said he was funny, i did not say he was smart.

fast forward to today and they are married and the parents to a brood of young un’s that double my number. he is funny and based on the marriage occurring AND all those babies, he must be a charmer, but still not smart.

and evelyn. she is the MOSTEST WONDERFULEST woman in the world. but again, based on her choice of spouse, not smart.

barry and evelyn just went through the valley of suffering the likes of which i never hope to know. they just sent their 6th child straight from their arms into the arms of God. grace was born on christmas eve and she made it to heaven in time to open her presents on christmas morning (hmmm, wonder what she got in her stocking?). she was truly “God’s grace” and she is where grace began and where grace belongs- in the hands of our Lord and Savior.

barry gave the eulogy at her funeral and his key verse was...

2 CORINTHIANS 12:9 My grace is sufficient for you...

and the amazing part- he made me believe it. that God’s love and grace could carry you through the storm, could sustain you through the entire bathtubs full of tears, and could bring you out on the other side whole and joyful and satisfied that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. i believe that God’s grace is enough for this life and for the next.

i tell you that when i stand before God at His Glorious throne and God asks me why i should be allowed in His glorious Heaven, i know that the right answer is because Jesus died for my sins and rose again so that i could enter Your Glorious Heaven, but a small part of me thinks that if i said that i was a friend of barry and evelyn’s that God would smile and say... “come on in, any friend of barry and evelyn’s is a friend of mine”

OR God would smile knowingly and say “that means you deserve a reward for putting up with them, come on in and live it up with us”.

either way I AM A WINNER (for knowing barry and evelyn)...

happy birthday barry and though you aren’t smart or rich or good looking, i like you anyway, but just know that i like evelyn a LOT more and you are only in because of her. kind of like i am only getting into heaven because of Jesus. well, you are only in with me because of evelyn.

darn, that makes evelyn more like Jesus than me like Jesus (which is true, but not easy to admit)...